tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post3106355409034672233..comments2023-07-25T09:25:34.293+01:00Comments on The Voyage: Middleton Autism Centre, what's the point?Sharon McDaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-91577953819085350802009-05-21T14:42:42.146+01:002009-05-21T14:42:42.146+01:00Hi Lisa
Not surprisingly, you know more about this...Hi Lisa<br />Not surprisingly, you know more about this place than I do. I had heard of it but never really paid attention to exactly what its aims were, to my shame.<br />It is a white elephant and like you I am pleased to see its funding removed. It seems like it was dreamed up to tick some North South initiative box rather than to actually help the people who need it. I agree also that the money could have used in so many other better ways. It's infuriating.Sharon McDaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550156204691696968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28040139.post-68659316197086122582009-05-21T14:03:49.341+01:002009-05-21T14:03:49.341+01:00Apart from the terrible waste of the 6 million I w...Apart from the terrible waste of the 6 million I was actually delighted to see this white elephant abandoned.<br /><br />When it was presented to us at the Education Department's Autism Conference last April, the back row of parents who managed to get last minute invites to this junket were apalled to hear what had been planned for Middleton.<br />A centre for CHILDREN who had FAILED was the synopsis. Instead of putting resources into exist state and charity funded autism units, ABA schools and Outreach and Mainstream placements of children with Autism and Aspergers; The plan was to wait for them to be expelled from whatever service they were barely receiving and then take them up to Middleton. On their own. There would be no intervention and support of the service that decided to "expel" the child, no home based parent support or intervention and no plan for repatriating the child back into the services that "rejected them"<br /><br />As a parent I sat their open mouthed as the fellow giving the presentation continued to refer to the child as "failing" rather than the services.<br /><br />6 million euro would have saved Barnacoyle ABA school and opened it up to even more children with an on-site based clinical team who could provide outreach services to kids graduating from ABA to mainstream. 6 million would buy the site Barnacoyle is on and ensure it can continue to provide much needed weekend respite to families in need of a short break in order to concentrate on their other kids or re-charge their own batteries, knowing their child with autism was safe and happy. (it's a beautiful centre) <br /><br />6 million would provide a lot of home based respite with qualified personnel and parent training. <br /><br />6 million could support clinical services to outreach and mainstream placements of children with ASDs across the Island. To train the teachers to understand how these kids learn and to make allowances.<br /><br />Everyday I read of parents drowning in the indifference of mainstream classroom staff who have little or no training in Autism, and who are unwilling to educate themselves. Kids who would otherwise benefit from socialisation and access to academic curriculums, but who are suspended or excluded for "answering back" (when all they are doing is being factual)<br /><br />What was ever the point of this centre? and hey in our current schmozzle of an economy, watching 6 million pissed away is daily news.<br /><br />I'm not mourning the loss. I say direct what ever funding is left (precious little) towards existing best practice and NFP services that are offering hope and opportunity to families like mine everyday.<br /><br />xxLisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17090964959615102849noreply@blogger.com